p.s. I have been asked why I underpaint the sky area with burnt sienna. The reason for this is that when I lay the final blue overlayer on top of the orange/brown, the two complementary colors vibrate optically in the viewers' eye, thus creating a more realistic depiction of atmosphere. I try to underpaint all natural elements (sky, water, trees, grass etc..) with the complementary color for this exact same reason. Most of the man made objects that I paint are usually painted right from the start with their true local color. The Impressionists were the inventors of this approach to painting, and it works well for modern realists as well.

About Me

I am a contemporary realist painter from Bergen County, N.J. My mission is to document fast vanishing local structures in the county using oil paint on linen canvas. I also offer small (5" x 7") paintings done on prepared panels for sale on ebay. Visit my website for more information. WWW.MARKOBERNDORF.COM